It’s All About the Beans

Cycling ’74 may not have made it to the 2014 Most Admired Companies list, but maybe sharing our obsession with coffee — since you already heard of the one with cats — will get us a few more admirers. Don’t worry, we love tea, juice, and other tasty liquids, too.

We agree: It’s all about the beans. Second to that, we use different kinds of gear. Here are some of our favorites plus a few tips:

Tim uses a french press with these instructions:
1. use a super coarse grind
2. don’t skimp! 2 tablespoons per cup. If you use too little coffee it ends up getting kinda acidy and gnarly.
3. don’t use boiling water, it will ruin it (especially if you have a light roast) — water should be around 195-200 F.
4. because the water is colder, I recommend pre-heating your cup (I usually just pour some extra hot water into it while the press steeps)
5. let it soak 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. usually this doesn’t need to be precise, but with some coffees it seems to make a difference